Abstract: Objective: To describe the current status and characteristics of workplace violence on psychiatric nurses, explore the influencing factors of workplace violence and its influence on the mental health of nurses. Methods: One hundred and forty psychiatric nurses were recruited from a general hospital. They were investigated with the hospital workplace violence questionnaire and symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90). Results: The incidence rate of workplace violence in psychiatric department was 80.7%. Logistic multivariate analysis found that female, low nursing level and younger were the risk factors of hospital violence. Nurses who were exposed to workplace violence were more likely to have mental health problems. Nurses had higher scores in interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, fear, somatization (P<0.05). Conclusion: The incidence rate of workplace violence was higher in psychiatric nurses and the mental health status of nurses suffering from workplace violence was low. Comprehensive intervention strategies should be taken to reduce the incidence of workplace violence and improve the psychological status of nurses.